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Brazeau trial delayed until June 2017

Sen. Patrick Brazeau at court in Gatineau, Que., on May 14, 2015. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Sean Kilpatrick)

Josh Elliott, CTVNews.ca
Published Friday, March 4, 2016 11:12AM EST

The criminal trial for Sen. Patrick Brazeau has been delayed until June 2017, while the senator recovers from a suicide attempt, a court decided on Friday.

"The trial was delayed because Mr. Brazeau attempted to (end) his life back in January," Brazeau's lawyer Christian Deslauriers told reporters on Friday, outside an Ottawa courthouse.

Brazeau's trial date has been set for June 12, 2017, to face charges of fraud and breach of trust relating to Senate expenses.

Brazeau was taken to hospital in critical but stable condition in January, following a suicide attempt at his residence in Mayo, Que.

On Friday, Deslauriers said Brazeau is at home and "doing better" after the ordeal.

"He started psychotherapy. He works on himself now, but it's definitely been hard on him the last couple months," Deslauriers said.

Brazeau was kicked out of the Conservative caucus and suspended from the Senate in late 2013, after he was charged in connection with his expenses. He now considers himself an "independent First Nations senator."

In an unrelated case, Brazeau was granted an absolute discharge last September, after pleading guilty to assault and possession of cocaine.